Indiana woman named Watermelon Queen

VINCENNES, Ind. (AP) — An Indiana woman who grew up in the state’s prime melon-growing country has been crowned the National Watermelon Queen. Emily Brown of Vincennes is the reigning Illiana Watermelon Queen. In late February she beat out six other women during the National Watermelon Convention in La Quinta, Calif., to claim the national crown. The 21-year-old will now travel the world promoting watermelon, with stops that will include Florida, Canada and Japan.

She is in her last semester studying nursing at Vincennes University, and she is from Knox County, Ind.

Proposals for broilers, turkeys research

TUCKER, Ga. — The USPOULTRY Board Research Initiative is requesting pre-proposals for the determination of the interaction of density and wellbeing in broilers and turkeys. Various countries and welfare certification groups have established guidelines on grow out density for broilers and turkeys. These guidelines vary greatly and are not based on scientific study in commercial conditions. By better understanding the interaction of grow out density, animal wellbeing and production measures in commercial conditions, objective maximum density recommendations can be developed.

The focus of the research will include objective measures for determining broiler or turkey wellbeing in a commercial setting, the determination of the effect of density on broiler or turkey wellbeing in a commercial setting and the determination of the effect of density on production parameters in a commercial setting. The deadline is April 24. For details, visit www.uspoultry.org/research